Several years ago, I found this bamboo tray at the Goodwill Bins (aka, the Goodwill Outlet). Even though it wasn’t all that special, I knew it was a blank canvas that I could have fun with- someday. I just didn’t know when that day would come.Read more ›
35+ Embroidery Hoop Crafts

Embroidery hoops are one of those things that are easy to find at thrift stores and yard sales, aren’t they? And they have just so many applications! Obviously, cross stitch and embroidery come to mind right away. But there are a LOT of other embroidery hoop crafts out there that are worth mentioning, especially for upcyclers like you and me.Read more ›
Welcome to Our New House!

Normally, I never post anything “personal”. It’s always a tutorial, themed collection of ideas, or a thrift store decor post. But with the new year upon us, I thought I’d take a breather from the norm and talk about our new house.Read more ›
Wooden Snowflake Ornaments

This, my friends, is a non-thrift store craft project, which I rarely ever do. But I have a very good reason for it. You see, I’ve partnered up with Upcycle Arts, the Creative Reuse organization here in Charlotte, NC. They happened to have a huge stockpile of donated clothespins and asked me to create a project with them. And with Christmas looming ahead, I decided to make some wooden snowflake ornaments with them.Read more ›
Neutral Christmas Decor with a Receipt Spike

Truth be told, I originally published this blog post in December of 2014. But, I doubt that most of my longest subscribers and readers would even remember it! So, when I recently unearthed them in a moving box at our new house, I decided to republish this post about a receipt spike and how I transformed it into a little Christmas tree. Read more ›
100 Repurposed Projects for Your Home and Garden

And just like that…2021 is coming to a close! It’s been a transformative year for me, personally- my first book was released (!!!) and we bought a house here in the Charlotte area. But it’s certainly been a challenging year once again. So, I won’t dwell on this past year’s low points But, I *WILL* spend a little time looking back on some of the repurposed projects that my friends and I (The Thrift Store Decor Team) came up with throughout the past year.
Embroidery Hoop Craft with Christmas Wreath Material

While I’ve upcycled embroidery hoops in the past, I’d never made a wreath with one. That is, until I spotted a large embroidery hoop at Goodwill. It just *looked* like a giant ornament to me. And I wondered if I could fill it with Christmas wreath material to look like an oversized ornament wreath.Read more ›
Decorative Coasters as Upcycled Gifts

Coasters are one of those things that check off a lot of boxes, aren’t they? They’re not overly expensive and serve a pretty important purpose for those of us with furniture that we care about. Decorative coasters are also easy to personalize to your unique tastes AND they fit the mold of a “general gift”. And let’s face it, this is the time of year when “gifts for anyone” can really come in handy.Read more ›